Every level of success begins with one thing – PREPARATION. It’s not just about showing up. It’s about committing to consistent improvement and consistently measuring your growth. With the basketball season just around the corner, ask yourself are you waiting for tryouts and the season to start, or are you preparing to be an impactful player this season? We must come to recognize there’s a HUGE distinction between the two. Most kids wait and when they don’t make it, they’ve already prepared a reason as to why they didn’t meet their goals.
The easiest excuse is to make it someone else’s fault. “The coach doesn’t like me” or “that player is the coach’s favorite” and that obviously isn’t the mindset that will make you successful. See, the best of the best stay ready so they aren’t always having to get ready. They work relentlessly to earn their opportunities, they make sacrifices, and they commit themselves to discipline and hard work. Still, none of that guarantees anything at the moment. What it will most certainly guarantee you is growth, improvement, and you may even grow to learn that sometimes your best still may not be good enough – and that’s just a simple fact of life.
The lesson we want for our community of parents, players, and coaches to learn is that it’s not always about your physical talent or ability to prepare, but the mentality! Success has everything to do with mental strength and mental preparation as it has to do with the physical. The strength and fortitude of your mindset becomes strongest when passion, drive, grit, and determination will see you through to persist to reach your goals.
How we handle disappointment matters. How we focus and prepare matters. How we respond to setbacks and challenges matters. How we handle pressure and adversity matters. These are the life skills that will serve our athletes when the ball stops bouncing. Physical ability and talent may carry many kids in the short-term, but the consistent mentality to prepare and the habit to continually grow and improve will ultimately determine long-term success. Every battle is won before it’s ever fought and it starts with the mindset to prepare. Join us at You Hoop and commit to preparation with us as we equip our athletes to excel not only in the game of basketball, but in all aspects of life.
0 Comments